Wrench



Oct. 23, 1962 D. o. NESS 3,059,513

WRENCH Filed Jan. 26, 1959 INVENTOR. DWIGHT 0. NE 58 ATTORNEYS ilnitedStates harem insane Patented Oct. 23, 1962 Free 3,059,513 WRENCH Dwight0. Ness, 1514 Maria Place, Coronado, Caiif. Filed Jan. 26, 1959, Ser.No. 788,925 4 Claims. (Cl. 81-119) The present invention relates to animproved type of wrench, and more particularly to that type of wrenchwhich is adapted to be rotated in one direction for applying a torque toa member of hexagonal cross section, and which is adapted to be rotatedin the opposite direction in a ratchet-like manner about such memberwithout applying any appreciable torque.

According to the present invention there is provided a wrench comprisinga pair of outwardly extending jaws which are formed with confrontingfaces or gripping portions which are adapted to fit over the faces orflats of a hexagonal member such as a nut or the like. The pair of jawsare arranged in spaced apart, parallel relationship in order to graspthe nut between them, and, in order to apply high turning or torqueforces to the nut during a working stroke while yet preserving aratchetlike action on the return stroke, one gripping portion is madeshorter than the other so that its outer end or boss lies adjacent theinner corner part of the adjacent flat of the nut. During-a workingstroke this short gripping portion is adapted to apply a torque againstthe adjacent flat, but upon a return stroke the nut in effect rotates orrolls about the boss or outer end of the short jaw, as will be seen.

The other jaw is cut away or relieved along the inward section of itsgripping portion, and the remaining outward gripping portion is adaptedto apply its torque during a working stroke to the outer portion of itsadjacent flat. That is, its torque is applied to its adjacent flat at anarea which is diagonally opposite to the area of the flat against whichthe shortened gripping portion applies its torque. This establishes atorque couple with the centerline of the nut between it so that thetorque couple tends to rotate or turn the nut.

The relief provided in the jaw is designed to permit the wrench to turnfreely upon the nut during the nonworking or return stroke. That is, thewrench is permitted to roll about the nut with the boss of the shortenedgripping portion tending to maintain its position with respect to theadjacent flat during the initial portion of this rolling movement. Theensuing relative movement between the nut and the wrench causes theinner corner part of the flat adjacent the relieved jaw to describe anare which, if interrupted, would prevent the wrench from slipping overthat corner part during the ratcheting action. However, with theprovision of the clearance space, the described are is not interruptedand the inner corner part of the flat passes freely through theclearance space to permit the wrench to be slid down and about a new setof flats for another working stroke. It has been found that the mosteflicient combination of high torque .and easy ratcheting isaccomplished by making the shortened gripping portion approximatelyone-third the length of the adjacent flat of the nut, and by making therecess or clear ance in the other jaw long enough so that the grippingportion of that jaw engages approximately one-third of the length of itsadjacent nut flat. Also, the clearance section preferably extends overapproximately the remaining two-thirds of the length of the nut flatadjacent to it.

In order to insure that the nut is seated between the gripping portionsof the wrench in the manner described, the wrench is formed to provide alocating means for limiting the inward passage of the nut. This mayconveniently take the form of angularly disposed faces adapted to matewith or receive the particular configuration of the inwardly disposedside of the nut, such as, for

example, a hexagonal configuration. By this means the gripping portionsare properly oriented for the best application of torque to the nut.

An important feature of the present invention is the provision of ayieldable member such as a leaf spring or the like, for bridging ordisposition across a substantial portion of the gap left in the one jawof the wrench by the formation of the clearance space. This spring,which is preferably arranged parallel to and in alignment with theadjacent gripping portion of the jaw, serves several functions. First,its yieldable nature permits the wrench to be applied to a nut havingits opposite flats spaced apart a distance very close to the spacing ofthe gripping portions of the wrench jaws. That is, there is very littleclearance between the wrench and the seated nut. The clearance may evenbe slightly negative, if desired, to thereby fit oversized nuts. Such asmall clearance would be impracticable with the usual wrench since itwould be unrealistic to expect an operator to carefully or even forciblymate the wrench to the nut for each work stroke. However, with thepresent wrench, by cooking the nut, or by so orienting the wrench withthe nut, the opposed flats of the nut may be introduced between theshort gripping portion of the one jaw and the forward terminus of theclearance provided in the other jaw, the leaf spring yielding to permitthe entry of the nut into such clear ance space. Once the nut hasdeflected the leaf spring so as to project into the clearance space, theleaf spring, which is preferably characterized by a surface having a lowcoeflicient of friction, permits the nut to easily slide across its faceto enable relative rotation of the nut into position with its flatsarranged parallel and closely adjacent to the gripping portions of thewrench. In this way the pair of opposite flats are firmly held inposition between the wrench gripping portions and ready for a. drivingstroke. Moreover, the leaf spring may be made adjustable in stiffness togive the operator a feel for the proper position of the grippingportions upon the flats when the spring moves outwardly or clicks backinto its normal position of adjacency with the flat of the nut.

In addition, the spring serves to force the nut against the boss orouter end of the short jaw during a ratcheting movement of the wrenchabout the nut, thereby enhancing the smoothness of the ratcheting actionby tending to prevent the nut from slipping inwardly to a position whereits flats might become undesirably lodged between the forward terminusof the clearance space and the locating means carried by the Wrench forlocating the nut during a'driving stroke. In order to further insureagainst such undesirable slippage of the nut, the boss of the shortgripping portion may be abraded or roughened, or its surface otherwiseprovided with a high coeflicient of friction, to maintain its positionon the adjacent flat of the nut.

The spring also maintains the wrench in position upon the nut tightlyenough that the wrench could he released without danger of its fallingoff the nut.

Various forms of yieldable means, bias means, and various bias adjustingmeans will hereinafter be described in connection with the severalembodiments of the invention, and the invention is not therefore limitedto a leaf spring.

It is to be particularly noted that by reason of the provision of theabove-mentioned spring, and the resulting close tolerance fit betweenthe nut and the wrench, an improved etllciency in the application oftorque is achieved, and the torque is applied to the flats of the nutrather than to its corner parts. Thus, the mutilation or wiping off ofthese corner parts is prevented, and moreover, nuts having alreadymutilated corner parts may be turned with the present wrench. Thischaracteristic of the present wrench permits its use on'brass andaluminum nuts, par- .position to turn the nut.

ticularly in tubing applications, since the wrench may be fitted overthe tubing or coupling nut and ratcheted in The wrench applies itstorque primarily to the flats of such nuts so that the soft metalthereof is not deformed.

The present wrench is simple and straightforward in design, easy to use,smooth in operation, and adapted to fit into relatively inaccessibleareas. It has maximum strength for its size, and can be made wider orthinner as required for the particular application.

Other objects and features of the present invention will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from the following specificationand appended drawings wherein is illustrated a preferred form of theinvention, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a wrench according to the presentinvention, a member of hexagonal cross section being illustratedtherewith to show the relative location of the gripping portions of thewrench with respect to the hexagonal member;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view like FIGURE 1, but illustrating theposition which the wrench would assume during a return or ratchetingstroke;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged detail view of the yieldable member of theembodiments of FIGURES l and 2, the bias means for adjusting theyieldability thereof also being illustrated;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective View of another embodiment of the wrench ofthe present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a further embodiment of the wrench of the present invention;and

FIGURE 6 is yet another embodiment of the wrench of the presentinvention, this embodiment being particularly adapted to use with asocket wrench handle.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGURES l, 2, and 3,there is illustrated a wrench 10 in accordance with the presentinvention, wrench 10 being shown in position to turn or drive a memberor out 12 of hexagonalcross section. For brevity, the handle portion 14'of wrench 10 is only illustrated in part, and extends away from the headof wrench 11 in the well known manner.

Wrench 10 comprises a pair of outwardly extending jaws 16 and 18 whichare formed with confironting faces or gripping portions 20 and 22,respectively, which are adapted to lit over the opposite parallel facesor flats 24 and 26 of nut 12. The pair of jaws 16 and 18 are arranged inspaced apart and parallel relationship in order to grasp nut 12 betweenthem. As will be apparent, gripping portions 20 and 22 are adapted to beurged against flats 24 and 26 during counterclockwise movement of wrench10 about nut 12, as illustrated in FIG- URE 1. FIGURE 1 illustrates thedriving or working stroke position of wrench 10 with respect to nut 12.

It is noted that gripping portion 24) is made shorter, that is, is moreinwardly disposed, than gripping portion 22 so that its outer end orboss 28 lies closely adjacent the point or corner portion 30 of flat 24of nut 12. During a driving or working stroke, gripping portion 20 isadapted to apply its torque against this portion of flat 24, whileduring a return or ratcheting stroke, as illustrated inFIGURB 2, boss 28serves as a pivot point about which wrench 10 is rotated in a clockwisedirection. To insure that boss 28 will remain the illustrated positionadjacent flat 24, and thereby serve as a pivot point, the outer end orextremity of boss 28 may be roughened or otherwise provided with asurface having a high coefiicient of friction, so that relative movementbetween boss 28 and fiat 24 is minimized during the initial portion ofthe ratcheting stroke of wrench 10. As will be seen, during the latterportion of the ratcheting stroke, boss 28 will slide over the surface offlat .24 and into engagement with an adjacent flat or nut 12, inposition for another driving stroke.

The other or longer jaw 18 is cut away or relieved at recess 32 so as tolimit the engagement of gripping po'r' tion 22 to a portion of flat 26which is diagonally op-' posite to that portion of fiat 24 engaged bygripping portion 26. Thus, gripping portions 20 and 22 constitutetorque'applying members for rotating nut 12 in a counterclockwise directionduring a driving stroke. Of course, if it is desired to effect a drivingstroke against nut 12 in the opposite or clockwise direction, wrench 10may be turned over or reversed in position, as will be apparent.

Recess 32 provides a clearance space for nut 12 when wrench 10 isrotated about nut 12 during a ratcheting stroke, as seen in FIGURE 2.More particularly, as wrench 10 is rotated in a clockwise direction,wrench 10 will pivot upon nut 12 about boss 28, and the inward point orcorner portion 34 of flat 26 will describe an are from its originalposition adjacent the inner terminus of recess 32, the arc dipping downinto recess 32 and thence outwardly to just clear the inner terminus ofgripping por tion 22. Through the provision of recess 32, wrench 10 iseasily rotatable in a clockwise direction to ratchet about nut 12.

A yieldable, movable, or resilient member 36 is bridged or disposedacross a susbtantial portion of the length of recess 32, and may be madeof springy material, such as spring steel, to exert a bias against nut12 during a ratcheting stroke. That is, member 36, which is rigidlyanchored to wrench It at the inner terminus of recess 32, yields topermit corner part 34 to slide across it and through recess 32. In doingso member 34 urges boss 28 and flat 24 together to insure non-slippingengagement therebetween during the initial portion of the ratchetingstroke. The surface of yieldable member 36 over which corner part 34slides is preferably made smooth or other- Wise provided with a surfacehaving a low coefiicient of friction so that slippage thereover ofcorner part 34 occurs easily.

In addition to this function of yieldable member 36, it will be seen inFIGURE 1 that member 36 also serves to maintain nut 12 firmly inposition against gripping portion 20, thereby preventing wrench 10 fromfalling away from nut 12 if wrench 10 should be released. In addition,yieldable member 36 gives the operator a sensory indication denotingwhen gripping portions 20 and 22 are in proper gripping position uponflats 24 and 26 preparatory to a driving stroke. The springy nature ofmember 36 tends to click or snap it into its normal position ofadjacency with flat 22 when nut 12 is properly posi tioned for driving.

In order to adjust the bias force of spring member 36, and therebyprevent the undesirable clockwise movement of nut 12 during a ratchetingstroke which might occur if member 36 pressed against corner part 34 tootightly, bias adjusting means 38 is provided, as best illustrated inFIGURE 3. The bias adjusting means 38 comprises a cap 40 which isslidably disposed within a bore 42 provided in jaw 18, and cap 40 isurged outwardly into forcible engagement with member 36 by a spring 44.A threaded adjusting plug 46 is provided for adjusting the bias force ofthe spring, more inward disposition of plug 46 increasing the stiffnessof member 36, and more outward disposition serving to relieve suchstillness.

The most efficient combination of high torque and easy ratcheting isprovided by making gripping portion 20 approximately one-third thelength of flat 24, and by making gripping portion 22 approximatelyone-third the length of flat 26. This of course means that the length ofrecess 32 will be approximately two-thirds the length of flat 26. Withthis relationship of sizes, it can be seen from FIGURE 2 that wrench 10may he cocked to permit wrench 10 to be fitted over nut 12 with the bulkof nut 12 between fiats 24 and 26 easily fitting through the spacebetween boss 28 and the inner terminus of gripping portion 22.Subsequently, wrench 10 may be rotated in a counterclockwise directionto fit gripping portions 20 and 22 against flats 24 and 26 in theposition illustrated in FIGURE 1. With this cocked entry of nut 12 intowrench it can be seen that the perpendicular distance between grippingportions 20 and 22 may be made slightly greater, the same, or evenslightly less than the distance across the flats 22 and 24, therebyproviding a very tight and closely adjacent relationship betweengripping portions 20 and 22 and flats 24 and 26. With this construction,with little or no tolerance between the gripping portions and the flats,almost all torque forces will be applied against the flats rather thanatthe corner parts of the nut. This is highly desirable since itprevents deformation of the points or corner parts of the nut.

Yieldable member 36 is provided with a rounded outer end portion 47 tofacilitate application of wrench 10 to nut 12, and eliminate anypossible interference between a corner part of nut 12 and the outer endof member 36 To properly locate nut 12 with respect to gripping portions20 and 22 in the manner above described, wrench 10 is formed withlocating means for limiting the inward passage of the nut. In theembodiment shown in FIG- URES l and 2, this locating means takes theform of hexagonally disposed faces 48 and 50 formed in the wrench head.In this way nut 12 is located for the best application of torque bywrench 10.

FIGURES 4, 5, and 6 illustrate other forms of yieldable members, such asthe yieldable member 36 above described. Thus, in FIGURE 4, a yieldablemember 52, made of spring steel or the like, is fastened at its innerend to the wrench head by a screw 54, and is bent upwardly at its outerend to provide a tab 56 which bridges across a substantial portion ofthe length of recess 32. The stiffness or spring of tab 56 is adjustedby sliding a bracket 58 over the inward portion of yieldable member 52,bracket 58 being maintained in position by engagement with a pair ofgrooves 60 formed in the wrench head, as illustrated. As will beapparent, the position of bracket 58 with respect to tab 56 dictates thestiffness or resilience of tab 56.

In FIGURE 5 a yieldable member 62 is illustrated, and which yields bypivoting about a pin 64 which is disposed through the thickness of jaw18. Member 62 is arranged across recess 32 and is biased outwardly, thatis away from jaw 18, by bias means 38 (not shown) which is located andwhich is operative in the same way as above described in connection withthe embodiment of FIG- URES 1, 2 and 3.

Similarly, in FIGURE 6 a pivotable, yieldable member 66 is illustrated.Member 66 is pivotable about a pin 68 disposed through the thickness ofthe wrench head, and an integral tab 70 of member 66 limits the outwardpivotable movement of member 66. Member 66 is biased outwardly by a biasmeans (not shown) identical to bias means 38 above described.

It is to be noted that the means limiting the inward disposition of nut12 with respect to wrench 10 may take a form other than the faces 48 and50 shown in FIGURE 1. Thus, in FIGURE 5 the locating means constitutes ashort guide face 72 -which terminates at one end in a rounded face 74which is carried into gripping portion 29, and at the other endterminates in a rounded face 76 which is carried into recess 32.

FIGURE 6 illustrates the form which wrench 10 would take for use with asquare drive socket wrench handle, the wrench head being formed toeliminate any handle, and to include a socket. Thus, the wrench head maybe turned by inserting the usual socket handle int-o socket 78, as willbe apparent.

Thus it will be seen that a wrench 10 has been described which isadapted to be rotated in one direction for applying a torque to a nut orsimilar element, and which is adapted to be rotated in the oppositedirection about such member in a ratchet-like manner. The working strokeof the wrench is efliciently applied to the flats of the nut, and theratcheting stroke occurs smoothly and easily through rotation of the nutabout a boss portion 28, with the opposite corner part of the nutproceeding through recess 32.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have beenspecifically disclosed, it is understood that the invention is notlimited thereto as many variations will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadestpossible interpretation within the terms of the following claims.

'I claim:

1. A wrench for turning a member of hexagonal crosssection, said wrenchcomprising a pair of jaws having gripping portions which are in spacedparallel relationship with each other, whereby said gripping portions ofsaid jaws will engage opposite flats of said hexagonal member, one ofsaid jaws being shortened to provide a boss arranged to engage a cornerportion of one of said opposite flats when said hexagonal member isdisposed in a driving position between said jaws, the other jaw having arecess for limiting its engagement with the other of said opposite flatswhen said hexagonal member is disposed in driving position between saidjaws, said gripping portions constituting torque applying members whenthe wrench is rotated in one direction, said recess providing clearancespace for said hexagonal member when the wrench is rotated about saidhexagonal member in 'an opposite direction, said wrench having angularlydis-- posed faces extending between said gripping portions of said jaws,one of said faces being adjacent said shortened jaw and adapted to matewith an inwardly disposed flat of said hexagonal member for limiting theinward movement thereof between said gripping portions of said jaws tothereby locate said hexagonal member in said driving position; and adeflectable member secured to said wrench and extending substantiallyacross said recess, said deflectable member terminating just short ofthe gripping portion of said jaw having said recess.

2. A wrench for turning a member of hexagonal crosssection, said wrenchcomprising a pair of jaws having gripping portions which are in spacedparallel relationship with each other whereby said gripping portions ofsaid jaws will engage opposite flats of said hexagonal member, one ofsaid jaws being shortened to provide a boss arranged to engage a cornerportion of one of said opposite flats when said hexagonal member isdisposed in a driving position between said jaws, the other jaw having arecess for limiting its engagement with the other of said opposite flatswhen said hexagonal member is disposed in driving position between saidjaws, said gripping portions constituting torque applying members whenthe wrench is rotated in one'direction, said recess providing clearancespace for said hexagonal member when the wrench is rotated about saidhexagonal member in an opposite direction, said wrench having angularlydisposed faces extending between said gripping portions of said jaws,one of said faces being adjacent said shortened jaw and adapted to matewith an inwardly disposed flat of said hexagonal member for limiting theinward movement thereof between said griping portions of said jaws tothereby locate said hexagonal member in said driving position; and adeflectable membersecured to said wrench and extending substantiallyacross said recess said deflectable member terminating just short of thegripping portion of said jaw having said recess, a second leg disposedover said angularly disposed face, and a restraining element disposedover said second leg and slidable in a groove formed in said wrenchwhereby deflection of said second leg may be adjusted to thereby adjustdeflection of said first leg.

3. A wrench in accordance with claim 1, wherein the other jaw having arecess is provided with bias means engageable with said deflectablemember to establish a bias force which must be overcome to deflect saiddeflectable member. 7

4. A wrench for turning a member of hexagonal crosssection, said wrenchcomprising a pair of jaws having gripping portions which are in spacedparallel relationship with each other whereby said gripping portions ofsaid jaws will engage opposite flats of said hexagonal member, one ofsaid jaws being shortened to provide a boss arranged to engage a cornerportion of one of said opposite flats when said hexagonal member isdisposed in a driving position between said jaws, the other jaw having arecess for limiting its engagement with the other of said opposite flatswhen said hexagonal member is disposed in driving position between saidjaws, said gripping portions constituting torque applying members whenthe wrench is rotated in one direction, said recess providing clearancespace for said hexagonal member when the wrench is rotated about saidhexagonal member in an opposite direction, said wrench having angularlydisposed faces extending between said gripping portions of said jaws,one of said faces being adjacent said shortened jaw and adapted to matewith an inwardly disposed flat of said hexagonal member for limiting theinward movement thereof between said gripping portions of said jaws tothereby locate said hexagonal member in said driving position; and adeflectable member secured to said wrench and extending substantiallyacross said recess, said deflectable member terminating just short ofthe gripping portion of said jaw having said recess, said deflectablemember being pivotally mounted to said wrench adjacent the inwardterminus of said recess, said deflectable member further including anintegral tab engageable with the angularly disposed face adjacent saidrecess to limit the outward pivotal movement of said defiectable member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS736,687 Chandler Aug. 18, 1903 749,134 Hyman Jan. 5, 1904 1,072,090 CookSept. 2, 1 913 1,767,441 Endsley June 24, 1930 1,802,832 Priddle Apr.28, 1931 1,898,388 Parker Feb. 21, 1933 2,630,037 McComb Mar. 3, 19532,655,065 Murphy Oct. 13, 1953 2,832,246 Liverrnont Apr. 29, 1958FOREIGN PATENTS 3,886 Great Britain Aug. 15, 1882 230,545 Germany Apr.1, 1944

